EDMONTON -- More than 21,000 Edmontonians lost their jobs in March, bringing the city's unemployment rate to 7.9 per cent, according to new Statistics Canada data.
The new numbers provide the first snapshot of job losses since COVID-19 began taking a toll on the Canadian economy. Economists warn that the numbers for April, when proctective measures against the coronavirus were ramped up even further, will be worse.
Edmonton now has the fourth highest unemployment rate of major Canadian cities, behind Windsor, Calgary and St. John's.
Calgary's unemployment rate rose to 8.6 percent with over 17,000 Calgarians losing their jobs last month.
Provincially, Alberta's unemployment jumped by 1.5 per cent from last month, up to 8.7 per cent, the fourth-highest in the country and highest among all but the Atlantic provinces.
"This is the worst one-month jobs report in Canadian history. It’s particularly bad for young people, women and lower-paid and more vulnerable workers," said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.
"The impact on both individuals and households is immense."
Later Thursday morning, Premier Jason Kenney is scheduled to announce a provincial plan to boost infrastructure jobs.
The Conference Board of Canada estimate more than 26,000 energy-related jobs will be lost over March and April due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and a crash in world oil prices.
Canada’s national statistics agency released its monthly Labour Force Survey on Thursday, using March 15 to 21 as the sample week – a time when the government began enforcing strict guidelines around social gatherings and called on non-essential businesses to close up shop.
More than one million Canadians lost their jobs in the month of March with the national unemployment rate climbing to 7.8 per cent, up from 2.2 percentage points since February.
With files from Sarah Turnbull
